Erick Thohir Tight-Lipped on Replacement for Patrick Kluivert

October 21, 2025 | 04:09 pm

The Minister of Youth and Sports and the Chairman of the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) Erick Thohir refused to answer questions about the appointment of a new coach for the Indonesian national team to replace Patrick Kluivert. He stated that he was speaking as the Minister of Youth and Sports.

"As I mentioned earlier, I am here as the Minister of Youth and Sports, and it will have its own responsibilities," said Erick, when asked when PSSI would appoint a replacement coach for Kluivert at the Ministry of Youth and Sports building in Jakarta on Tuesday, October 21, 2025.

Erick even responded by mentioning that the journalists were not accustomed to recognizing his position as the Minister of Sports or the Chairman of PSSI. "So, apparently, friends are not used to it yet. They have to get used to it, that's how it is," he said.

When asked about the discussion of a new national football team coach between the Minister of Youth and Sports and PSSI, Erick evaded the question. "It's unrelated, that's how it is," he said.

The former State-Owned Enterprises Minister asked the journalists to act maturely because they are in the same house, which is the Ministry of Youth and Sports. "Media friends must be mature, we sleep under the same roof. We must respect each other, we must love each other because if we always divide ourselves, we will not mature. Eventually, there will be conflict. I already mentioned earlier that each has their own responsibilities," said the 55-year-old man.

The question about the appointment of a new coach for the Indonesian national team has become an important issue that was asked of him. This is because the Garuda squad will be playing two friendly matches on the FIFA Matchday in November 2025, from 10th to 18th November 2025. One of the expected opponents is Malaysia. However, until now, PSSI has not appointed a new coach after terminating Kluivert's contract on October 16.

PSSI decided to end its cooperation with Kluivert after the Indonesian national team failed to qualify for the 2026 World Cup final. This decision has sparked a major controversy. The failure was linked to the dismissal of the previous coach, Shin Tae-yong, during the qualifiers. Many consider the replacement of the coach in early January as a reckless move that disrupted the team's momentum.

Some also believe that the change from a coach from South Korea to a Dutch architect subsequently had an impact on the elimination of the Indonesian national team in the fourth round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in the Asian zone. The Garuda squad was confirmed to fail to reach the final after losing to Saudi Arabia 2-3 and Iraq 0-1 at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah on October 9 and 12 respectively.

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